Can you use AI to write Romance Fiction?
Like you, I love writing romance fiction, and over the past twenty years, I have become fascinated by the power of story craft and authorpreneurship in genre commercial fiction.
Over the past few years, three things have become very clear.
First. Romance fiction is still one of the most popular forms of genre fiction. From historical to contemporary, from classic Cinderella tropes to same-gender romance, paranormal to small-town Western romance, readers have a passion for niche romance fiction.
This wide variety of niche subcategories in the romance genre means that there are readers online at this moment looking for precisely the kind of romance that you love to read and are planning to write. That’s the good news! There is a market for your niche romance, no matter how small.
Secondly. Commercial romance fiction has developed unwritten story conventions, tropes, and elements that today’s readers will both recognize and expect to see in modern romance fiction, such as novellas and novels.
If you love reading and writing romances in a particular niche, you will already be familiar with many of these tropes and themes.
A paranormal, fantasy, or historical romance will have different story conventions to a small-town western, or a modern big-city romantic comedy, for example. A romance author has to weave those elements into their story craft as part of story development.
Thirdly. In order to make a living as a fiction author, you have to create more books, preferably in a linked series of books, faster than ever before. And then market and share those books around the world in the most efficient way possible.
Why? Books are a luxury to many readers in the current harsh economic climate. If you want to make a living, you have to provide an entertaining romance that your readers will purchase, read, enjoy, and then immediately buy the next book in the series. And that reader wants the book now. Not in a month.
Indeed, there are some romance readers who will not invest time and money on the first book in a series until they know that the next book or books are complete.
This is why many romance authors will “bank” the first two books in a romance series until the third is complete and release all three over a short time period.
And therein lies the problem.
Most romance authors do not write full-time. Every author has a different lifestyle and home life, but in my experience, genre fiction authors are real people who might have a day job to pay the bills, a family, a home to run, and children and/or relatives to take care of.
Many romance authors I know personally, for example, decided to write fiction so that they could work from home and take care of their children, rather than go out for a paid day job. The income they generate from writing has to replace their wages.
Asking romance authors to become more productive, so that they can write even more compelling, brilliant, captivating romance books, and produce them faster, is just adding more stress and pressure to an already busy life. And we know where that leads.
This is why an AI tool such as ChatGPT can transform your productivity and output.
So many of us have files of half-written stories which have been abandoned for one reason or another. If you have lots of story ideas and not much time to write them, using Artificial Intelligence [AI] as part of your story development process can be a game changer. It has the power to transform both your personal productivity and your output.
For example, these tools can assist you in writing a romance novel at every stage of the writing process, including:
- Plot Generation: AI can generate a basic outline or plot for your story based on the specific parameters or prompts you input. If you tell the AI tool that you want a romance set in Regency England, it can create an outline of main events, conflicts, and resolutions.
- Character Creation: AI can help to develop niche-specific characters, including their backstories, physical descriptions, and personality traits. It can also suggest relationships between characters based on common tropes in romance novels.
- Writing Style: You can instruct AI tools like ChatGPT to learn your unique author voice. This could include things like sentence length, context, the amount of dialogue vs. narrative, the use of metaphors, etc. Then use your unique author’s voice to draft or re-write scenes.
- Dialogue: AI can generate dialogue between characters based on their established personalities and the context of the interactions you have given them. If dialogue is not your strength, this can help you overcome writer’s block and give you draft ideas you can work on.
- Editing: AI can serve as a first-pass editor for grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. Some more advanced tools can also provide suggestions for improving style, clarity, and engagement.
Limitations of AI tools such as ChatGPT
AI tools like ChatGPT have been trained on vast amounts of online data and can recognize patterns in the language associated with specific fiction tropes. But they don’t understand the concept of the author’s voice, or the nuances of romantic relationships and the emotional depth that is implicit in romance fiction.
That’s why these tools can never totally replace a human author.
I prefer to think of ChatGPT as a writing partner who can provide you with ideas and suggestions in response to questions that you ask them to answer. You can then decide whether to accept these suggestions or look for better ones.
Will ChatGPT be able to write my entire romance book for me?
Not at all. It can handle fact-based non-fiction text much more easily. But as we all know, writing creative fiction is an entirely different challenge. There are also technical limitations about how many words each prompt and output can cope with.
How does ChatGPT work?
ChatGPT is just one example, among many, of a “Large Language Model” form of Artificial Intelligence. It was launched in November 2022 and is now the fastest-growing product in history worldwide. The system has been trained to understand the connections between words and phrases that create languages. It is still learning every time you type in a question or instruction. This is why you are advised to never include personal or sensitive information in your chats.
Prompts
The questions and instructions you provide to ChatGPT as input are known as “Prompts”- you are prompting the system with the information it needs to search for an answer.
The secret to using ChatGPT for any form of writing, and especially creative writing, is to ask a series of questions using very clear and precise language. A poor prompt will lead to a vague generalized response. A clear, well-defined prompt will give you insightful, precise responses. The best way to illustrate how powerful ChatGPT can be, and how prompts are structured is through a few examples.
WORKED EXAMPLE.
Prompt
Can you provide me with five detailed examples of how ChatGPT can help romance authors to create compelling characters for a historical romance novel?
Response
Sure, let’s explore how ChatGPT specifically can assist in creating compelling characters for a historical romance novel:
- Character Background Generation: You could ask ChatGPT to create a detailed background for a character based on certain parameters. For example, you could request, “Create a background for a young woman who grew up in 18th-century Scotland, from a poor family, who is known for her exceptional intelligence and sharp wit.” ChatGPT could provide you with an intricate backstory, including details about her family, her struggles growing up, how she cultivated her intelligence, and instances where her wit was particularly noticeable.
- Personality Trait Development: You could ask ChatGPT to generate a list of personality traits and corresponding behaviors for a character. For instance, you could say, “What are the personality traits of a charismatic, secretive, and complex male protagonist who is a ship captain in the 19th century?” ChatGPT could provide not just a list of traits, but examples of behaviors that manifest these traits, which can add depth to your characters.
- Character Interaction & Dialogue: ChatGPT can generate sample dialogues between your characters. If you provide context and character traits, it could produce engaging dialogue reflecting the era’s language and the characters’ unique voices. For instance, “Provide a dialogue between an aristocratic lady from Victorian England who is rebellious and a commoner man who is a philosophical thinker.”
- Character Development Arcs: You could ask ChatGPT to outline a character development arc. For example, “Outline a redemption arc for a rogue lord in Regency England who starts off as a scandalous character but changes after falling in love with a virtuous woman.” ChatGPT would provide key points in this character’s development, which you can flesh out to create a dynamic character.
- Physical Appearance Descriptions: Often, the physical description of a character can be challenging to write. You could ask ChatGPT to generate a description based on certain parameters. For instance, “Describe the physical appearance of a dashing, middle-aged Spanish knight from the 15th century with a battle-scarred face.” ChatGPT would then create a vivid, detailed description that you could directly use or modify as needed.
Or perhaps you want to create a Contemporary Billionaire Novel and would like some story ideas to get started?
WORKED EXAMPLE.
Prompt
Please provide me with a list of 10 popular romance fiction tropes that I can use to write a 50,000-word contemporary romantic comedy novel set in London, England. For each of these 10 tropes give me 3 examples of a compelling story idea for a romantic comedy novel based on that trope, featuring a billionaire hero and an intelligent and independent wedding planner heroine. Each story idea should be engaging and attractive to potential readers of contemporary romantic comedy fiction.
Response
Absolutely, let’s delve into some fun contemporary romance tropes with corresponding story ideas featuring a billionaire hero and a wedding planner heroine in London:
- Opposites Attract
- A tech billionaire who’s all about logic and efficiency falls for a whimsical wedding planner who believes in the magic of love.
- An eccentric billionaire who lives life on the edge becomes enamored with a methodical, risk-averse wedding planner.
- A reclusive, introverted billionaire finds love with a vivacious, outgoing wedding planner who believes in the romance of weddings.
- Fake Relationship
- To soften his harsh public image, a billionaire convinces a charming wedding planner to pretend to be his girlfriend, but their act becomes all too real.
- A billionaire needs a fake fiancée to secure a business deal and hires the savvy wedding planner who’s been under his nose the whole time.
- A wedding planner agrees to pretend to be in a relationship with a billionaire client to make his ex-girlfriend jealous, but they end up falling for each other.
- Enemies to Lovers
- A demanding billionaire and a headstrong wedding planner butt heads over an extravagant wedding, but their tension soon turns into passion.
- A wedding planner has sworn off wealthy clients due to their demanding nature, but her latest client, a billionaire with a heart of gold, may change her mind.
- A wedding planner finds herself falling for the one man she can’t stand: a billionaire known for his ruthless business tactics.
- Secret Identity
- A wedding planner unknowingly falls for a billionaire who is pretending to be a simple florist.
- A billionaire poses as a caterer to understand the wedding planner’s needs better, and they end up falling in love.
- A billionaire hides his identity to get close to a wedding planner, but as they fall in love, he must confront the deceit between them.
- Second Chance at Love
- A billionaire reconnects with his first love, a wedding planner, when he attends a wedding she has organized.
- A wedding planner is hired to plan the wedding of her high school sweetheart, who is now a billionaire.
- A billionaire and a wedding planner who were childhood sweethearts reunite when he’s the best man at a wedding she’s organizing.
- Friends to Lovers
- A billionaire and a wedding planner have been best friends since college, but planning a mutual friend’s wedding makes them see each other in a new light.
- A wedding planner finds herself falling for her billionaire friend when he asks her to plan his sister’s wedding.
- A billionaire realizes his feelings for his best friend, a wedding planner, when she asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend for a wedding event.
- Office Romance
- A billionaire hires a wedding planner to organize a corporate event, and they find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other.
- A wedding planner working for a corporate event company falls for a billionaire client who appreciates her organizational skills and quick wit.
- A workaholic billionaire falls in love with a wedding planner while she’s organizing his brother’s wedding.
- Sudden Parenthood
- A billionaire becomes the guardian of his niece and hires a wedding planner to help organize a birthday party, leading to unexpected romance.
- A wedding planner helps a billionaire organize his newly adopted child’s welcome party and, in the process, they find love.
- A billionaire unexpectedly becomes a father and enlists the help of a wedding planner to organize a lavish christening.
- Love Triangle
- A wedding planner finds herself torn between a charming billionaire client and her dependable childhood sweetheart.
- A billionaire and his equally wealthy cousin both fall for their family’s wedding planner.
- A wedding planner must choose between a billionaire who offers her the world and her co-worker who understands her passion for weddings.
- Cinderella Story
- A billionaire falls in love with a hardworking wedding planner, but a secret from her past threatens their happily ever after.
- A wedding planner dreams of opening her own company and catches the eye of a generous billionaire willing to make her dreams come true.
- A billionaire playboy unexpectedly falls for a humble wedding planner and goes to great lengths to prove his love for her.
Remember, the key to any successful romance story is believable character development and strong emotional connections. Happy writing!
#
These outputs were created by ChatGPT in seconds.
Yes. Seconds. It took longer to create the prompt than the system took to generate a response.
This is an astonishing development, and right now, the basic ChatGPT model is free for anyone to use.
Aren’t most of these story ideas total clichés?
Of course they are, and that is precisely because we asked ChatGPT to give examples of popular tropes. Shortcuts into the story that readers use to find the kind of romance stories that they love. It answered the question we asked it.
AI tools such as ChatGPT provide a starting point to trigger your own ideas for characters, external and internal conflicts, and settings.
Won’t my work be stilted and robotic?
ChatGPT, Sudowrite, and numerous other AI fiction-support software platforms available online are tools. Not replacements for your style or unique voice.
You should expect to carry out a serious amount of rewriting, reshaping, and polishing before your book is publishable.
New, more sophisticated options are already being developed, but right now, in summer 2023, they are valuable tools that any genre fiction author can use to transform their productivity and output – saving time, energy, and money so that you can focus on the quality of the romance fiction produced.
Instead, use their suggestions and outputs as inspiration and ideas for how your book could work.
These are early days and I believe that those authors who adapt and use AI to support the creative writing process will be ahead of the game at a time of great turmoil.
This is why AI is one of the most exciting technological advances in decades!
It’s time to re-think AI tools such as ChatGPT as your new friendly and professional story guide and co-author who:
# Has the power to transform your productivity and output.
# Is always available 24/7, providing you have an internet connection.
# Is always ready to help with any aspect of the writing process and does not get tired or go away on holiday.
# If you have upgraded to ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT-4, can handle inputs and outputs of several thousand words, so you can work one chapter at a time.
# Can have a conversation with you on any topic you want – at least, almost any topic. Violent and Erotic Content are not allowed. This is not the place to ask for help writing erotic romance fiction. All descriptions of intimate contact and sexual activity are not permitted. You can still use these tools to create characters and the plot outline for the emotional journey those characters will take, but not the physical activities.
Summary
With the right prompts and guidance, ChatGPT can help create compelling characters, emotional narratives, and vibrant settings that capture readers’ hearts.
By understanding how ChatGPT works, how to craft effective prompts, and how to edit and refine the text it generates, authors can utilize this tool to augment their creativity, not replace it.
Welcome to the future of romance fiction writing, where love stories are brought to life through the synergy of human creativity and AI innovation.
Find out more HERE.
